Abstract

A hapticmusical instrument is an electromechanical musical instrument that provides a musician not only with audio feedback but also with force feedback. Many commercial force feedback devices consist of a tool, such as a thimble or pen, attached to the end of a robotic arm. The musician can grab onto the tool and use it to manipulate a virtual musical instrument. While this configuration provides multiple degrees of freedom, it is suboptimal for many musical interactions. For instance, typically the workspace of the arm is restricted, which can detract from the musician’s enjoyment of the experience. The workspace restriction can be resolved by freeing the tool from the end of the haptic device and having the musician hold the tool, which may be a plectrum, bow, or drumstick, in his or her hand. Further benefits can be reaped if multiple points of haptic interaction are available, enabling the musician to manipulate the points and move freely in between them. A dual voice coil woofer provides a convenient collocated sensor/motor for constructing a single degree‐of‐freedom point of haptic interaction. We present an example instrument in which a musician employs a conventional plectrum to interact with a virtual digital waveguide string.